As anyone who has eaten in the Greater Boston area knows, restaurants come and restaurants go.

That is why a place like La Morra in Brookline is such a wonder. After all, how many husband-and-wife teams can run an authentic Italian urban eatery for almost 15 years, survive a fire and come back to win regional and national awards, and still take the time to take their devoted fans on wine and food tours of Italy?

The answer is Jen and Josh Ziskin.

And while their many devoted fans in the Boston area love them dearly and consider the Ziskins family (as the Ziskins do their guests), they were thrilled to hear that the Ziskins had bought an historic inn in rural Sherborn with the idea of doubling their family-friendly family empire.

The result is the warm and welcoming Heritage of Sherborn (www.heritageofsherborn.com), a combination pub/dining room/event space/inn that also offers its own provision shop and other attractive amenities that make it a worthy destination for repeated visits from near or far.

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As the Boston market continues to expand, hip eateries continue to pop up in the burbs (see recent issues). And while this can be fun for a foodie (or food writer), sometimes, you just want to go where the menu is simple, the food is real, and the people are just your kind.

Thank goodness for the historic Natick eatery that is Casey’s Diner (www.caseysdiner.com)!

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What do you do when your restaurant is one of the most popular in the area for years?
Close it up after its most successful year ever and open it again weeks later with an entirely new concept, of course!

Such is the story of the new Nosh & Grog in Medfield (www.noshandgrog.com), which was until recently the already amazing Zebra’s Bistro and Wine Bar in Medfield.

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While Boston may not be known for its authentic Mexican (Jose’s and Sol Azteca being the notable exceptions), we got it in spades when it comes to tacos and burritos. However, Chiplotle is still a toxic trap and even the BOston LOcal COmpanIes may not have the freshest ingredients or most personal service.

Enter Babson entrepreneur Dan Ustayev and his growing empire of Los Amigos Taquerias (www.amigosbutrritos.com).

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I had seen the signs for months, but the paper covering the walls made it impossible to see what was really coming.

At last, I had the chance to try Little Big Diner in Newton Center (www.littlebigdiner.com).

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While Burton’s Grill continues to heat things up all up and down the East Coast, many customers have apparently been asking them to turn up the heat a bit more.

The result is the two-venue trial balloon of Red Heat Tavern (http://redheattavern.com).

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It seems that everywhere you go these days, there is some store that combines a color and fruit for a name and offers machine-made, high-fructose frozen yogurt with a salad bar’s worth of toppings that are intended to cover up the main product visually and olfactoriialy.

Fortunately, the folks in Wellesley and its neighboring towns have had a better alternative for nearly a quarter of a century. The family-owned and operated shop known appropriately as Truly Yogurt (http://trulyyogurt.com) has been delivering just that for 24 years. No wonder proprietor Gary Goldman has become somewhat of a local celeb and the place wins awards regionally and statewide!

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While Boston appears to be enjoying a Greek Revival when it comes to food (see Michael Schlow’s Doretta Taverna & Raw Bar in Park Square, Brendan Pelley’s Pelekasis in the South End, and Jody Adams’ Saloniki), Newton has long served as a pillar of the Greek gastro community. In addition to the family-friendly Farm Grill (and the founding Iliades family’s famous Greek International Food Market in West Roxbury), there is also another Hellenistic haven a bit more off the beaten path yet no less worth the trip.

Located next to Cheryl Ann’s famous bakery, Putterham Grill (www.putterhamgrille.com) combines family-bred recipes with contemporary flair and also offers a substantial take-out counter for people who need sustenance for their daily odysseys.

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The Greater Boston area is slathered with so-called “Irish” bars and restaurants. And while most anyone can learn to use a spoon to pour a Guinness or to have pictures of Joyce and O’Shea on the walls, it takes a wee bit more to make an authentic or even a good Irish venue.

With years of experience laid down by its siblings in Foxboro and Lexington, the “modern” Irish bar known as Waxy’s (www.waxys.com) has been dropping pots of gold at the end of rainbows in Brookline and Kingston (with more on the way).

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With the long-overdue increased focus on health and freshness in America, juice bars have become the latest “fitness in a bottle” rage. Sadly, many of these corner store concoctors offer items that are as bland as the organic dishwasher with which they wash their million-dollar blenders.

That is why It was so refreshing to find Tropical Smoothie Café.

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